1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector and to a connector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-130324 discloses a connector with first and second housings that are connectable with one another. The first housing has a lock and the second housing has a resiliently deformable lock arm. The lock arm interferes with the lock in the process of connecting the two housings and deforms resiliently. The lock arm resiliently returns and engages the lock when the housings reach a properly connected state to lock the housings in the connected state.
The lock has a guiding surface that is inclined with respect to a connecting direction of the two housings, and the lock arm is deformed by sliding in contact with the guiding surface in the process of connecting the housings. An operating portion formed on the lock arm can be pressed to deform the lock arm and to disengage the lock arm from the lock for unlocking the two housings.
An operator may press the operating portion mistakenly while holding the second housing during a connecting operation. Thus, the lock arm could be deformed at the start of a connecting operation. In this case, the operating portion is not pressed intentionally for unlocking and a deformed amount of the lock arm is likely to be smaller than a deforming amount necessary for unlocking. Hence, the lock arm contacts an intermediate part of the guiding surface during the connecting operation.
The lock arm continues to slide in contact with the guiding surface and deforms further as the connecting operation proceeds and then resiliently returns when the connection is complete. The resiliently deforming amount of the lock arm during this sliding contact with the guide surface is smaller than the resiliently deforming amount when the connecting operation is started properly and without the lock arm being partially deformed. Thus, a variation of connection resistance resulting from the resilient deformation of the lock arm also is small when the lock arm is partially deformed at the start of the connection operation. The operator feels the progress of the connecting operation based on the variation of the connection resistance resulting from the resilient deformation of the lock arm. The progress of the connecting operation can be judged better when the variation of the connection resistance is large.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-130324 discloses a connector where a variation of connection resistance is small if the lock arm is deformed partially at the start of a connecting operation and thus provides a poor operation feeling.
The present invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to provide good operation feeling even when a connecting operation is performed with a lock arm left resiliently deformed.